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Memo Torres

Memo Torres is the Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist for the James Beard award-winning L.A. Taco. He is also the host of the Daily Memo and writes for Apple Maps’ ‘Where Memo Torres Eats in L.A.’ You can see him on Netflix’s Taco Chronicles and Pressure Cooker.  You can hear him on KCRW’s ‘Good Food’ occasionally. He was a finalist for the Ruben Salazar Award for Latino journalists and a former third-generation landscaper.

Daily Memo: ICE Pepper-Sprays and Throws an 80-year-old Attorney, Arrests a Community Watcher, and Takes Seven From Lompoc

Video shows a couple of agents piled on top of Randamaa, shoving his head to the ground as other community members watched in anger and horror. An 80-year-old attorney trying to advocate for the agents to get off Randamaa was pepper-sprayed in the face by one of the agents pinning down Randamaa with the signature Yoga Cobra Pose. As he was pepper-sprayed, you can see the lawyer throws his hands out while blinded, being eventually thrown to the ground by the Yoga agent. 

February 20, 2026

Daily Memo: ICE Used 14 Vehicles to Take 6 People from Rancho Cucamonga Courthouse

So essentially what we’re seeing is that Border Patrol is still active down in San Diego, along with ICE. Here, ICE is operating out of their local offices in Santa Ana and San Bernardino. We also know that people are being taken in Los Angeles who show up for their check-ins. These incidents are hard to catch, observe, or document, but we've confirmed that they're happening.

February 19, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Communities and Lawmakers Start Preparing For ICE’s Next Move

Around Los Angeles and Orange County, ICE is still grabbing people who show up to their immigration appointments. ICE also has a big presence in the I.E. and San Bernardino County. Shake-ups and changes continue with DHS, and lawmakers in other states are trying to criminalize ICE observers while one in California is trying to protect them.

DAILY MEMO: Border Patrol Has Left Los Angeles, ICE Carries On Taking Around 25 People This Week

The Harbor Area Peace Patrollers, who for 8 months stood watch every single morning outside of Terminal Island, today confirmed that ICE and CBP have demobilized from the Coast Guard base. While we’ve seen a decrease in activity with Border Patrol gone, around 25 people were still taken between Monday and Friday from Home Depots, cars, courthouses, and mostly targeted attacks. 

Daily Memo: California’s Mask Ban For Agents Paused by The Court, As ICE Continues Separating Families at Gun Point

ICE is still hitting the Inland Empire hard with about 18 people confirmed taken in the first 8 days of February in that area, and we’re also seeing an escalation in San Diego.

Daily Memo: New State Bill Introduced To Hold Private Detention Centers Accountable

Senator Perez today introduced SB 995, the Masuma Khan Justice Act, designed to strengthen state oversight of detention centers by allowing state agencies to inspect facilities, instituting fines of $25k per day, and revoking licenses of private detention facilities when they fail to meet health and safety standards.

February 6, 2026

Daily Memo: Democrats Help Approve Temporary DHS Funding, Demand ICE ‘Behaves’

LAPD Chief McDonnell is laughed at by attendees at the L.A. Police Commission while L.A. City council member, Hugo Martinez, leads a rebuke in the L.A. city council meeting against McDonnell's refusal to enforce the new state laws against agents and law enforcement wearing masks. Meanwhile, ICE continues to operate while CBP is missing.

February 3, 2026

Daily Memo: ‘They’re Going To Kill Him,’ Toddler Says, As Border Patrol Arrests Her Father

Today, even without the usual border patrol raiders, ICE, on their own, managed to pick up around 18 people, mostly targeted attacks, including a huge raid in Monterey Park across the street from Mark Keppel High School around 7:30 a.m. this morning, where, reportedly, 8 Asian folks were taken in a large operation that included ICE and HSI agents, as students were being dropped off at school across the street.  

February 2, 2026

DAILY MEMO: Border Patrol Continues To Follow, Point Their Guns, and Detain Community Watchers

While L.A. showed out for the General Strike, with what felt like 100,000 people marching for three hours from downtown L.A. to Boyle Heights and back, ICE and Border Patrol continued their new streak of following and arresting community watchers.

January 30, 2026